Virginia Key Grassroots This Weekend in Miami

Virginia Key

A Miami coastal park is the lovely setting for a world-beat grassroots music festival this weekend  -- the Virginia Key Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance, happening  February 21-24.

This is a super-interesting eclectic fest with world-beat, Cajun, Latin, blues, old-time, and reggae on the lineup. Much-touring jamband Donna the Buffalo hosts this fest, now in its second year. The great Rusted Root is also on the bill.

This is a camping festival -- primitive sites only -- and there are a bunch of different things you need to know -- car passes, carpooling deals, etc. It's $50 a night to bring in your car and tent-camp, $25 a night to tent camp if you don't bring your car in. RV passes are $150, and there are no hookups. No campfires are allowed.

Four day tickets to the fest are $100, and there are daily ticket options as well.

Kung Fu Can FUNK! At Aura Music and Arts Fest This Weekend

Wow is all I gotta say about the funk/fusion band Kung Fu, which pays Aura Music and Arts Festival at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park  (in Live Oak, Fl) this weekend. Tickets are still available for the fest, so get 'em and come on.

Kung Fu plays Friday 10:45 pm to midnight and Saturday with Nigel Hall (of the killer New Orleans funk powerhouse Ivan Neville's  Dumpstaphunk) from 4:30 to 6 p.m. -- the Saturday show is a tribute to Stevie Wonder! I defy you to sit still for this one:

Catch Perpetual Groove While You Still Can at Aura Music and Arts Festival This Week

This weekend may be one of the last times you'll get to see Georgia's Perpetual Groove lay down their licks at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park. The national touring band is going on an indefinite hiatus in April.

But this weekend they'll be gracing the Aura Music and Arts Festival stage Friday (midnight to 1:30) and Saturday (9:30 to 10:45. ) Founding member Brock Butler plays solo 11 a.m. Sunday.

The sad news for PGroove fans came on January 13th: The band announced it would be taking a hiatus in April. Here's the skinny on that announcement:

"Albert, Matt and Adam will continue touring and recording under the new name Ghost Owl. Brock apologized to fans saying he needs time off to break bad habits and create new good ones. Brock stated that a reunion is not out of the question at some point but he cannot promise or give any time frame."

So it will be some bittersweet jams this weekend, no doubt. Here's some PGroove  to get you primed:

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Aura Festival This Week: Check out Dopapod

So excited for the Aura Music and Arts Festival this week. This camping fest kicks off Friday and runs through Sunday night at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Fl. Tickets are $129 plus fees, and that includes free primitive camping Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Water and electric spots are extra.

Perpetual Groove, Conspirator, Papadosio, and the Heavy Pets headline the weekend. (Full lineup and links to the bands below)

This week, Let's take a look at some of the interesting bands who will be raging for us on the beautiful Aura stages in the woods. Today, we'll listen to the excellent  Dopapod. They've got a funky, electronic, psychedelic, jam, jazz, dubstep thing going. At times it sounds a little like the lightning-fast jazzadelic riffs of the band Yes. They can work a groove.

Dopapod plays Saturday at 7 in the ampitheater and 6 Sunday night on the porch stage.


Check out this one, Trapper Keeper.

Here is the full Aura lineup with links from our friends at Jambase:

* Papadosio
* Conspirator
* Perpetual Groove
* The Heavy Pets
* Dopapod
* Kung Fu
* RAQ
* The Lee Boys
* Greenhouse Lounge
* DrFameus
* Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band
* Stokeswood
* Consider The Source
* Break Science
* The McLovins
* Jeff Bujak
* Brock Butler Solo
* Lingo
* Former Champions
* The Main Squeeze
* Newton Crosby
* Todd Stoops
* Nigel Hall
* Roosevelt Collier

Jaw-Dropping Jake Shimabukuro Touring the South Next month

One of the most mind-blowing musicians on the planet -- seriously -- will be touring Georgia and Florida in March. Jake Shimabukuro is a master player, of all things, on the humble ukulele.

In his hands, the ukele sounds like a 12-string guitar. From covers of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody and George Harrison's While My Guitar Gently Weeps to classical compositions and jazz, Shimabukuro puts on an jaw-dropping show.

This link takes you to a USA Today article about Shimabukuro, who is the subject of a new PBS documentary which is coming out in May. Here's some more buzz he's been getting:

“Jake is taking the instrument to a place that I can’t see anybody else catching up with.” - Eddie Vedder

In his young career, ukulele wizard Jake Shimabukuro has already redefined a heretofore under-the-radar instrument, been declared a musical “hero” by Rolling Stone, won accolades from the disparate likes of Eddie Vedder, Perez Hilton and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, wowed audiences on TV (Jimmy Kimmel, Conan), earned comparisons to Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis, and even played in front of the Queen of England.

With his new record Grand Ukulele, Shimabukuro’s star may burn even brighter.

Below, I've pasted a video to give you an idea who this music phenom is and where he comes from.

But first, here are the tour dates:

March 2 -- Robert Ferst Theater, Atlanta
March 4 -- The Plaza Live, Orlando
March 19 -- The Capitol Theatre, Clearwater
March 20 -- The Florida Theater, Jacksonville

Buy tickets -- you will not regret it!

Two Great February Fests Coming Up

Virginia Key Beach Park

February is upon us, and (at least in Florida) fest season begins again...

I've already previewed the first Florida fest of February, the funk-jam-jazz-and live electronica dance party that is Aura Music and Arts Festival (President's Day weekend, Feb. 15-17, at the beautiful Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak.) Tickets are available at the bargain price of $119 for the weekend.

Now I give you heads-up for February's second cool Florida fest -- the Virginia Key Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance, happening in a coastal park outside Miami February 21-24. This is a super-interesting eclectic fest with world-beat, Cajun, Latin, blues, old-time, and reggae on the lineup. Much-touring jamband Donna the Buffalo hosts this fest, now in its second year. The great Rusted Root is also on the bill.

This is a camping festival -- primitive sites only -- and there are a bunch of different things you need to know -- car passes, carpooling deals, etc. It's $50 a night to bring in your car and tent-camp, $25 a night to tent camp if you don't bring your car in. RV passes are $150, and there are no hookups. No campfires are allowed.

Four day tickets to the fest are $100, and there are daily ticket options as well.

Here is a great video from the fantastic Spam Allstars, who are playing the festival: